


A Rare Catch

by exomostlyhuman



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Hybrids, M/M, Pokemon GO - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-26
Updated: 2017-04-26
Packaged: 2018-10-24 09:19:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10738755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/exomostlyhuman/pseuds/exomostlyhuman
Summary: Cat hybrid Junmyeon meets homeless beagle hybrid Chanyeol, and they find home together.





	A Rare Catch

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Round 1 of Exo_mostlyhuman (prompt #21) by [exo_everlasting](http://exo-everlasting.livejournal.com/profile)
> 
> Author notes: Characters are young, so no romance - just a sweet friendship. ALL THE FLUFF. 
> 
> For you Pokémon Go! players, I do know that Chandelure hasn’t been released yet, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it will be soon!! 
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this little ball of fluff!! <3

“Chandelure!” gasps Junmyeon, as the menacing black and purple ghost Pokémon pops up onto his phone. “I finally found you!”

 

His dark-brown tail twitches behind him as he slowly stalks closer to the digital monster to capture it. He swipes his finger up the screen and groans when the red and white ball bounces off of his fiery target. He lines up to aim again, his dark, pointed ears fluttering in his honey blond hair as he hears rustling behind him. He doesn't recognize the danger he is in until he is suddenly lying flat on his back, his phone several feet away.

 

The cat boy freezes in fear, and lies with his eyes tightly closed. The voice of his keeper echoes in his mind, “Don't go out alone, Junmyeon. There are bad people out there who could hurt you!” At this moment, he wishes he had paid attention to Baekhyun's advice.

 

Suddenly, a wet tongue slides up the side of his face, startling him. Panicked, he wrestles out from beneath his assailant, and flips himself onto all fours, his back arched and his tail puffed to its fullest volume. His mouth opens in a fierce hiss, baring all of his sharp teeth. His narrowed eyes focus in the dim evening light and land on a young pup lying on his side in the dewy grass. The pup's teeth are also bared, but rather than the menacing growl Junmyeon expects, he hears only a happy bark and the rapid thumping of the beagle hybrid's tail against the ground.

 

The smiling pup bounces up onto his knees, his fingers digging into the grass in front of him, and his tail wagging furiously behind him. He tilts his head at the cat boy in curiosity, his floppy ears bobbing in his black hair with the movement. Junmyeon chuckles at the adorable image the younger pup makes, and internally chides himself for his initial terror when the harmless creature “attacked” him.

 

“You were looking for me?” the small pup questions, his smile so joyful that the fur of Junmyeon's tail smooths back to its usual sleekness. “Do I know you? Do you want to play?”

 

The cat yowls when the pup pounces on him again, tumbling them both down the slight decline toward the small pond in the center of the empty park. They land in a patch of sweet-smelling wild flowers at the edge of the water with the pup on top, his face buried in the cat boy's neck. He snuffles his nose just below Junmyeon's jaw, making the ticklish older boy squeal and squirm beneath him.

 

“You're a cat!” the floppy-eared beagle hybrid exclaims, beaming down at Junmyeon. “I've never met a cat before! How did you know I was here?”

 

Junmyeon pushes the smaller boy off of him once again, this time out of amused exasperation rather than fear. He stands up and brushes the blades of grass off of his plaid Bermuda shorts, and begins looking for his lost phone.

 

“I wasn't looking for you, I was looking for a Chandelure,” he says. “I hope you didn't make me lose it!”

 

“Oh.” The pup stands up, his tail and ears drooping. “I'm Chanyeol. I thought you called out for me.” He rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. “I don't know anyone named Chandler around here, but maybe I can help you look for him?”

 

“It's Chandelure - a character in a game I’m playing - and I don't need your help, I can find it again,” he mutters as he walks away. “I hope I can, at least.”

 

The cat hybrid strides back up the hill, spotting the lit screen of his phone in the broad grass. He picks it up, sighing in relief that it isn't shattered, and spins slowly in an attempt to find his coveted, rare Pokémon. When the black and purple monster pops up on his screen, he swipes quickly to throw a Pokéball at it, and misses again.

 

“Is that your phone?” Chanyeol asks, peering around Junmyeon's shoulder. “I used to have a phone. I played games on it all the time. I like playing games!”

 

Taking three steps away from the talkative beagle hybrid, he aims again, this time capturing the elusive Chandelure. “Gotcha!” he crows, turning and looking at the pup behind him.

 

For the first time, Junmyeon notices the shabby clothing that the boy is wearing. His jeans are threadbare, and are exposing his ankles in proof that he has outgrown them. His grass-stained t-shirt is so faded that what was once a cheerful rainbow stretched across his chest is now dull and colorless. The boy's bare feet are blackened with mud, and Junmyeon can just make out a smattering of freckles under the smudges of dirt on his cheeks.

 

Sensing the older boy's scrutiny, Chanyeol shrinks into himself. “Sorry, I was on the way to the pond to take a bath when I thought you called for me,” he motions behind himself with his thumb. “I'll just go, then.” He turns around to head back toward the small body of water. “It was nice meeting you,” he pauses, stopping to face the other hybrid once again. “...you didn't tell me your name.”

 

“Junmyeon,” the cat boy says quietly, then clears his throat. “My name is Junmyeon.”

 

“Nice meeting you, Junmyeon,” the pup says, his smile far less bright than it was before. “Maybe I'll see you around sometime.”

 

Chanyeol turns and throws a wave over his shoulder as he continues on his way toward the pond. As he nears the edge, he reaches behind his neck to pull his shirt off over his head, and the cat boy is shocked to see how prominent his ribs and shoulder blades are beneath his pale skin. Junmyeon belatedly realizes that it shouldn't have been so easy for himself, a relatively small adolescent cat hybrid, to throw a dog off of himself, even if he is at least a couple of years older than the other. The pup is very thin.

 

“Wait,” he calls out, tucking his phone into the pocket of his shorts. When the beagle stops and turns around, Junmyeon feels blinded by the brightness of the boy's smile. “Do you live around here?”

 

With his tail waving cheerfully behind him and his russet-colored ears flopping on top of his head, Chanyeol scampers back through the tall grass, pulling his shirt on again. “Yeah!” he yips. “D'you wanna see? I live right over here!”

 

He rushes toward a giant weeping willow tree that is just a few feet away from where Junmyeon first spotted his Chandelure, and pulls back the thick, concealing branches to reveal the hidden area beneath. Even with light-sensitive feline eyes, Junmyeon has to squint to see in the cool darkness of the heavy foliage.

 

No grass grows in the shade of the huge tree, and Junmyeon can see patches of mud that explain the beagle's dirty feet. The ground is dry near the trunk where Chanyeol squats down on his haunches and switches on a battery-powered lantern, illuminating the sheltered area with a warm glow. His few possessions lie tucked into the exposed roots of the enormous tree, including a rolled up sleeping bag, some worn clothing folded neatly, a few bags of snack food, and a pair of flip flops. The canine quickly unrolls the sleeping bag and folds it in half, sitting down on it with his back against the knotted tree trunk.

 

He pats the other half of the sleeping bag and looks at Junmyeon with his huge, round eyes. “Sit with me?”

 

The cat boy complies, zipping up his cardigan as defense against the surprisingly cold air in the leafy sanctuary. He gingerly avoids the mud puddles with his leather loafers, and crouches down onto the make-shift cushion. “I can only stay a few minutes,” he says. “I need to get back home before dark.”

 

“That's okay,” Chanyeol says, shuffling on the slick fabric of his bed so that he can rest his head on his visitor's shoulder. “Now that you know where I live, maybe you can come back and visit me sometime. It's nice to have someone to talk to.” His tail thumps against the ground in contentment.

 

Junmyeon’s chest constricts for this homeless boy with such a sunny disposition. He thinks about his own warm space and many friends, as well as his loving keeper, at the hybrid shelter. He may no longer have an owner, or live in a house in the suburbs, but he is loved and taken care of as if he were part of a big family. 

 

“Have you always lived alone?” Junmyeon asks, as his arm snakes around the pup's shoulders. He begins scratching gently behind a floppy ear, causing the tail thumping to increase in speed and volume.

 

The feline spends far longer than he means to, listening to Chanyeol's story about being kicked out of his human's house when the man's girlfriend moved in. His heart hurts even as the young pup describes how wonderful his new home in the park is. Despite the canine's description of the clean toilet facilities, the pond to drink from and bathe in, the abundance of picnic food that gets thrown away in the nearby trash cans, and the ease of procuring exotic items like the lantern and sleeping bag from distracted campers, Junmyeon can tell the boy is lonely.

 

The sudden flash of lightning and the distant boom of thunder startles them both, and the cat boy jumps into motion. He tugs Chanyeol to his feet, and begins to unfold, then unzip the waterproof sleeping bag. The pup wraps his arms around himself and blinks in confusion until Junmyeon stops and smiles at him.

 

“This will keep us warm and dry if we don’t make it before the rain starts,” he says. “It's a bit of a walk, so put on your shoes and gather what you'll need tonight. We can come back for the rest tomorrow.”

 

“Come back?” the pup asks, tilting his head. “Come back from where?”

 

“Home.”

 

> ~ x ~ <

 

Baekhyun, a small man with a big heart, has been pacing with worry behind the reception desk of his modest hybrid shelter since the storm began. He has made certain that all of his residents are safely tucked into their rooms, but one hasn't made it home from his trek to catch Pokémon. Junmyeon hasn’t responded to his first two texts, and he is just about to send another when the front door is thrown open. He gasps in bewilderment as a laughing orange bundle with four legs comes stumbling through the front door into the lobby, dripping water all over the floor. 

 

When the sleeping bag is dropped, Baekhyun is relieved to see that Junmyeon has made it home safely. He is also surprised to see an unfamiliar hybrid clinging to him. A giggling canine hybrid has his arms tightly wrapped around the cat boy’s waist, with his head tucked under Junmyeon’s arm. When he lifts his head and his eyes meet Baekhyun’s, his damp ears perk up and a brilliant smile spreads across his face.

 

Junmyeon wraps his own arms around the pup who is attached to his side and beams at his keeper. “This is Chanyeol,” he says brightly. “Can I keep him?”

 

Before Baekhyun can even respond, the pup releases his hold on Junmyeon and bounds to the shelter owner’s side. “Hi!” the pup greets him happily. “I’m Chanyeol! Can he keep me?”

 

“Well, that depends, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun responds with a kind smile. “Does your family know where you are? Is there someone I should call?” He checks the pup’s neck for an identification collar, but finds none.

 

“I don’t have a family, I live under a big tree!” Chanyeol replies, his bright smile never wavering.

 

The warm-hearted shelter owner laughs and ruffles the pup’s hair, “Of course he can keep you!” He then looks at the cat hybrid and says, “You know all the rooms are full right now, Junmyeon. If you do want him to stay, he will have to room with you until someone gets adopted.”

 

“That’s fine with me, if it’s okay with Chan…”

 

Junmyeon isn’t able to finish his sentence before his arms are full of a happy, dancing beagle, and Baekhyun clasps his hands under his chin, grinning at the touching scene. The cat hybrid is one of his favorite residents of the shelter, with his kind heart and willingness to help out wherever he is needed. He had given the cat the nickname “Jun-mum,” because of his tendency to mother the younger residents, so seeing him bring in a young stray is really no surprise. It gives Baekhyun a case of the warm fuzzies to see the usually calm cat boy acting so jubilant. He thinks to himself that this enthusiastic beagle pup might be just what Junmyeon needs.

 

“Okay, okay, break up your little party so we can get the new kid settled in,” he says, scooping the wet sleeping bag up off of the floor. “Show him to your room, Junmyeon, then let’s get you both into a hot shower and to bed! We don’t need you both coming down with colds!”

 

“Shower?” Chanyeol barks happily. “I love showers!”

 

> ~ x ~ <

 

When the two hybrids are clean, dry, and ready for bed, they walk down the hall of the lodging wing of the shelter, saying hello to many of the other residents. When they reach the end of the corridor, they see the door to Junmyeon’s room is ajar and they find a small cat hybrid inside with his arms full of pillows and blankets. He turns around when they step in, and he drops his armload in surprise. He gasps as his tiny hands flutter to his heart.

 

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to bother you!” the startled hybrid says nervously. He picks up the linens hurriedly, and holds them out in front of himself with both hands, his head in a timid bow. “Mr. Baekhyun said your sleeping bag needs to dry out overnight, but you can make a bed on the floor with these!”

 

The long, warm shower and clean clothes have tempered the beagle hybrid’s energy, but his smile is still as genuine as ever as he accepts the bedding gratefully. “Thank you!” he says. “I think I could sleep anywhere with all these pillows!”

 

“Thank you, Jongdae,” Junmyeon smiles at the smaller cat. “You have been very helpful.” He strokes the hair between the kitten’s light brown pointed ears, scratching lightly, which causes the smaller boy to close his eyes and purr in bliss.

 

“He’s a cat, too,” Chanyeol whispers loudly to Junmyeon, who nods in return.

 

Jongdae opens his eyes and smiles at the beagle, much calmer after being praised and petted. “I’m new here, like you,” he says shyly. “It’s a really great place, and everyone is really nice. You’ll like it here.”

 

“Thank you, I already love it!” Chanyeol’s eyes crinkle and his tail wags lazily behind him. “I think we’ll be friends. But I’m really ready for bed, so it was nice meeting you, and I hope I will see you tomorrow!”

 

They say their goodnights, and Junmyeon closes the door behind Jongdae, then turns to look at his new roommate. Chanyeol has placed the bedding neatly on the floor, but is standing looking longingly at the double bed that is pushed up against the wall in the corner of the cozy room. He looks so small in Junmyeon’s borrowed clothes, with only the tips of his fingers showing beneath the cuffs of the long-sleeved t-shirt, and the soft shorts hanging below his knees.

 

“You don’t have to sleep on the floor, you know,” the cat boy says quietly. “The bed is plenty big enough for both of us.”

 

Chanyeol turns to face him, his soulful brown eyes wide and full of hope. “Really?” he asks in awe. “I’ve never slept in a bed before. My owner made me sleep in a crate.”

 

For the hundredth time that night, it seems, Junmyeon’s heart clenches in sympathy for the difficult life of the sweet young pup he’d brought home with him. He thinks about his own life, growing up in a nice home with a family that adored him and treated him well. When they had to give him up because they were moving across the world to a new country, they made sure to find the best hybrid shelter in the city to surrender him to, even giving a large donation of money to Baekhyun to help fund the shelter’s needs.

 

Junmyeon scoops up the pillows and blankets, and deposits them on the bed, smoothing the covers over top of his own, then folding all of them back and climbing in. He scoots over toward the wall, and looks expectantly at Chanyeol, who looks even younger than he is with his huge eyes and wistful smile. Carefully, the pup crawls into the bed, and immediately curls onto his side and burrows his face against Junmyeon’s chest.

 

“Did I die?” he questions timorously, his voice smaller than Junmyeon has heard it all night.

 

“What?”

 

“In the storm. Did I die? This doesn’t seem real,” he lifts his head to meet the cat boy’s eyes, his own welling up with tears. “It’s too good to be true.”

 

“No, Chanyeol. You are very much alive,” Junmyeon smiles tremulously at the pup, his heart swelling in his chest. He kisses the boy’s forehead and tucks his head back against his chest. “Now get some sleep. Tomorrow will be a big day with all the new friends you are going to meet here.”

 

> ~ x ~ <

 

Weeks pass, and Chanyeol indeed makes many new friends with the other hybrids, as well as Baekhyun’s small staff of human employees, Minseok, Kyungsoo and Yixing, although he always seems to be wherever Junmyeon is. Side by side they clean, help in the kitchen to prepare meals for the residents, and play with the young ones until they are ready for bed. Together, they welcome new hybrids into the shelter and say happy goodbyes to those who are adopted. However, even when space becomes available, neither he nor Junmyeon ever make any mention of him moving out of their shared room. 

 

One day, Baekhyun approaches the two of them in the playroom, where Chanyeol is cuddled up to Junmyeon on the couch in front of the large TV. The shelter owner has a cheerful smile on his face as he asks the pair to follow him out to the lobby, where they see two well-dressed young men leaning against the reception desk. 

 

Butterflies instantly spring to life inside Junmyeon’s stomach as he realizes what this might mean, and he quietly slips his hand into Chanyeol’s, slotting their fingers and gripping tightly. The beagle’s tail droops behind him as he looks up at the cat boy, fearing that this could mean one is being adopted and they will be separated. 

 

The dark-haired man pushes himself off of the reception desk and steps forward, clearing his throat and smiling hopefully at the hybrids as the blond man steps up behind him, standing close with his hand on the other’s waist.

 

“Hello,” the dark-haired man says politely to the pair. “My name is Jongin, and this is my husband Sehun. We have been watching you two over the webcams on the shelter’s website for awhile...”

 

The blond interrupts his husband, “We’ve wanted to adopt someone for a long time,” he says nervously, “but the thing is, he’s a dog person and I’m a cat person, so we have been considering what kind of hybrid we’d like to adopt. After watching the webcams, we’ve kind of fallen in love with both of you, and want to give you a forever home, if you would like to come live with us.”

 

Chanyeol and Junmyeon tighten their grip on each other’s hands, and share wide-eyed glances. “You’ve watched us?” the cat hybrid asks.

 

Jongin smacks Sehun’s shoulder in exasperation, “Don’t make us sound like stalkers!“ He turns back to the hybrids. “Yes, and we’d like to adopt you both. We live in a really nice neighborhood, and we have extra bedrooms, and we’ll buy you good food, and all the toys you want, and we’ll just love you forever if you will agree to be ours!” 

 

“Now who’s the stalker?” Sehun whispers dramatically, rolling his eyes behind his husband.

 

Baekhyun chuckles and turns to the speechless hybrids. “These two stalkers are actually close friends of mine, so I can vouch for them. As weird as they are being right now,” he winks at the pair as the married couple make noises of indignation, and says, “I know they will take excellent care of you, and will make you happy. Plus, I know where they live, so you’d better believe I will be checking up on you!”

 

“Okay!” Chanyeol yips happily, bouncing on his toes as he clings onto Junmyeon’s arm with the hand that isn’t already linked with the cat’s. Junmyeon speechlessly smiles and nods in stunned agreement.

 

“Well then,” Baekhyun says as he claps his hands together and walks around the counter to the computer. “We’ve got some paperwork to do, so why don’t you boys go gather up your things and say your goodbyes to the others?”

 

Both boys suddenly wilt at the thought of saying goodbye to the shelter and all of their friends, and Sehun notices their sudden melancholy. 

 

“Don’t worry,” he says, stroking Chanyeol’s ear. “We just live about 10 minutes away from here. You guys can come visit anytime you want. If we aren’t home to drive you, there is a bus that runs from our neighborhood directly to that corner,” he points out the window at the bus stop sign. “We’ll teach you how to get here anytime you want!”.

 

> ~ x ~ <

 

About an hour later, the hybrids have given lots of hugs, gathered up their belongings and are both proudly wearing brand new collars with their names and contact information around their necks. Their new owners take turns hugging Baekhyun, and promise to invite him over for dinner in the near future. As the newly-created family walk out the door to Jongin’s car, the two men talk excitedly about their house, their neighborhood, and the new bedrooms that are just waiting for Chanyeol and Junmyeon. The beagle stops in his tracks, hugging his old orange sleeping bag closely to his chest.

 

“Do we have to sleep in different rooms?” he asks timidly. 

 

Sehun and Jongin share confused looks, then Jongin smiles and says, “Of course not! If you want to share a room, you can. Whatever you want, it’s your home, too.”

 

Chanyeol sighs in relief and begins walking toward the white SUV in the parking lot, with Junmyeon by his side. The cat’s tail wraps itself around the pup’s waist as they reach the vehicle, about to venture into their new life.

 

“One thing I should mention,” Sehun says, as he closes the hatch on the SUV, “I hope you guys like to go for lots of walks, because I’m warning you right now we are both kind of obsessed with Pokémon Go!, so…”

 

> ~ x ~ <


End file.
